Not Applicable.
1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to liquid dispensers, and in particular to devices for dispensing cleaning and freshening liquids from under the rim of a toilet bowl.
2. Description of the Related Art
Toilet bowls require care to prevent the buildup of unsightly deposits, to reduce odors and to prevent bacteria growth. Traditionally, toilet bowls have been cleaned, deodorized and disinfected by manual scrubbing with a liquid or powdered cleaning and sanitizing agent. This task has required manual labor to keep the toilet bowl clean.
In order to eliminate the manual scrubbing, various automatic continuous cleaning toilet bowl cleaning products have been proposed. One type of product comprises a solid block or solid particles of a cleansing and freshening substance that is suspended from the rim of a toilet bowl in a container that is placed in the path of the flushing water. U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,529,309 and 2,214,798 show examples of this type of toilet bowl cleaning system. Typically, a portion of the solid block is dissolved in the flush water with each flush, and the flush water having dissolved product is dispensed into the toilet bowl for cleaning the bowl. These solid block toilet cleaning systems have certain disadvantages such as a short lifetime and a decline in the amount of cleaning and deodorizing agents released into the toilet bowl as the solid block deteriorates.
Other automatic, continuous cleaning, toilet bowl cleaning systems use a liquid cleaning agent that is dispensed into a toilet bowl. For example, European Patent Application Nos. EP-0538957 and EP-0785315, U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,946,448, 6,178,564 B1 and 6,230,334 B1, and PCT International Publication Nos. WO 99/66139 and WO 99/66140 all disclose cleansing and/or freshening devices capable of being suspended from the rim of a toilet bowl for the purpose of introducing liquid active substances from a bottle into the flushing water with each flush. Typically, the liquid active substances may include one of more of the following: surfactants (such as a mixture of an anionic surfactant and a nonionic surfactant), solvents, sequesterants, pH controllers, thickeners, preservatives, fragrances, and dyes. In these under the toilet rim devices, the liquid active substances are delivered downward from a reservoir to a wicking device (e.g., a dispensing plate or porous mass) that is supported by a base that is suspended from the toilet rim. The device is suspended from the toilet rim such that the flow of flush water from the toilet contacts the wicking device during a flush. The flush water carries the liquid active substances that are on the wicking device into the toilet bowl to clean and freshen the toilet.
One disadvantage with these known under the toilet rim liquid dispensing devices is that the devices use a gravity fed wicking system to deliver the liquid active substances into the flush water, and as a result, in some of these devices, water may enter the reservoir thereby diluting the liquid active substances. Thus, there is a need for an improved under the toilet rim liquid dispensing device wherein flush water is prevented from entering the reservoir and thereby diluting the liquid active substances in the reservoir.
Another disadvantage with these known under the toilet rim liquid dispensing devices is that the devices can be quite bulky and as a result, these devices spoil the look of the toilet. What is needed therefore is an improved toilet rim mounted device for dispensing a liquid wherein the device is more completely hidden from view when the device is installed on a toilet rim.
The foregoing needs are met by a dispensing device according to the invention in which a flow of water during a toilet flush is used to dispense liquids into a toilet bowl. The dispensing device includes a reservoir for holding a liquid, a wick, and a suspension means. The reservoir has an upper surface with an opening, and the wick is disposed in the opening such that the wick contacts the liquid in the reservoir and extends to a position at or above the upper surface of the reservoir. The wick transports the liquid upward from the reservoir to the position at or above the upper surface of the reservoir. The suspension means is for suspending the reservoir from a rim of the toilet bowl, and the dispensing device is positioned within the flow of water during a toilet flush such that at least a portion of the flow of water is directed onto the wick and the upper surface of the reservoir whereby liquid on the upper surface of the reservoir and/or liquid on the wick is delivered into the toilet bowl during the toilet flush.
The liquid is formulated with surfactants and the wick is formed from a hydrophobic material such that the liquid is transported upward on the wick from the reservoir to the position at or above the upper surface of the reservoir. During a toilet flush, the flow of water washes liquid on the upper surface of the reservoir and/or liquid on the wick into the toilet bowl. The use of hydrophobic material in the wick serves to repel flush water from the wick and thereby prevents flush water from traveling down the wick and entering the reservoir during a flush. As a result, the remaining liquid in the reservoir is not diluted by the flush water. Various configurations of the wick provide for upward liquid transport on the wick. For example, the wick may include fluid transport channels such as vertical grooves in an outer surface of the wick or interconnected pores in the wick structure. Preferably, the wick comprises sintered polyethylene.
In a second aspect, the invention provides an improved toilet rim mounted device for dispensing a liquid wherein the device is hidden from view when the device is installed on a toilet rim. The dispensing device uses the flow of water during a toilet flush to dispense the liquid into a toilet bowl. The device includes a reservoir for holding a liquid; a wicking device for transporting the liquid from the reservoir to a dispensing surface; and suspension means for suspending the reservoir and the wicking device from a rim of the toilet bowl. The dispensing device is positioned such that at least a portion of the flow of water during a toilet flush is directed onto the dispensing surface whereby liquid on the dispensing surface is delivered into the toilet bowl during the toilet flush.
In one form of the second aspect of the invention, the dispensing surface is retained in a substantially fixed position when in use in the toilet bowl, and the suspension means is not visible from above the rim of the toilet bowl when the dispensing device is installed on the rim of the toilet bowl. In another form, the dispensing device does not extend inward toward a center point of the toilet bowl beyond a plane defined by an innermost wall of the rim of the toilet bowl when the dispensing device is installed on the rim of the toilet bowl. In yet another form, the dispensing surface is retained in a substantially fixed position when in use in the toilet bowl, and the suspension means does not extend over a top surface of the rim of the toilet bowl when the dispensing device is installed on the rim of the toilet bowl. In still another form, no part of the dispensing device extends over a top surface of the rim of the toilet bowl when the dispensing device is installed on the rim of the toilet bowl.
The suspension means may include an upwardly extending support member and an attached resilient arm wherein the support member and the resilient arm each engage opposed walls under the rim of the toilet bowl when the dispensing device is installed on the rim of the toilet bowl. The opposed walls under the rim of the toilet bowl may be opposed walls of an open rim of an open rim toilet or opposed walls of a flush water passage of a box rim toilet.
It is therefore an advantage of the present invention to provide an improved device that can dispense quantities of cleaning and freshening toilet bowl treatment liquids from under the rim of a toilet bowl during a flush.
It is another advantage of the present invention to provide an under the toilet rim liquid cleansing and/or freshening device that includes a vertical wicking system such that the liquid active substances in the device reservoir are not diluted with flush water.
It is still another advantage of the present invention to provide an under the toilet rim liquid cleansing and/or freshening device that can be installed under the rim of the toilet bowl such that the suspension hook is hidden out of sight and therefore, the liquid dispensing device does not spoil the look of the toilet with an unsightly suspension hook.
It is yet another advantage of the present invention to provide an under the toilet rim liquid cleansing and/or freshening device that can be installed under the rim of the toilet bowl such that the liquid dispensing device is substantially out of sight and therefore, the liquid dispensing device does not spoil the look of the toilet.
It is still another advantage of the present invention to provide an under the toilet rim liquid cleansing and/or freshening device wherein flush water does not enter the opening in the reservoir containing the liquid.